The Mackenzie River is a major river system in northwestern North America. It is exceeded only in basin size by the Mississippi-Missouri system. The entire Mackenzie River system is 2,635 miles long and passes through many lakes before emptying into the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. The Mackenzie River alone is 1,025 miles long when measured from Great Slave Lake. It begins at Great Slave Lake where the elevation is 512 feet above sea level. Great Slave Lake can be as deep as 2,000 feet in certain places. It is filled with clear water on the eastern side and shallow, murky water on the western side. The headwaters of the Mackenzie River include numerous large rivers. The drainage basins of the Mackenzie River include the Liard River, Peace River, and Athabasca River. The ice that forms on the Mackenzie River over the winter months begins the break up in early to mid-May in the southern sections. Ice covering some portions of the Mackenzie River can break up as late as the end of May. The Mackenzie River basin is home to a very small and sparse population despite the natural resources available in this area. This area is home to muskrat, marten, beaver, lynx, and fox. Pulpwood and other small conifer trees can be found here. Petroleum and natural gas are usually the underlying reason larger settlements have formed in this area (Robinson 1999).

The Dempster Highway begins in the Yukon and ends in Inuvik, Northwest Territories (Government of Northwest Territories). It is the only Canadian highway that crosses the Arctic Circle (Northwest Territories Parks). The Dempster Highway was named for a Northwest Mounted Police officer Sgt. W.J.D. Dempster who traveled down this road in the winter of 1910 in search of a “Lost Patrol”. The Lost Patrol was a group of mounted police who lost their way on the way back to Fort McPherson and all members died (Yukon). The highway is entirely gravel except for the last 10 kilometers in Inuvik (Government of Northwest Territories). The Dempster Highway was started in 1959, but was not completed until 1979 (Yukon). The Dempster highway is known for its ecology, including caribou, sheep, eagles, falcons, butterflies, bears, coyotes, foxes, and others. The highway passes through Angelcomb Peak, or sheep mountain, which is the breeding ground for the Dall’s sheep. The highway passes a region of “drunken” boreal forest, which got its name because it is located on an area of shifting permafrost that continuously thaws and freezes. The Dempster Highway crosses 217 of Canada’s ecoregions. After 405.5 kilometers on the highway, travelers will reach the Arctic Circle. After 465 kilometers, the highway enters the Northwest Territories. The highway ends after 272 kilometers in the Northwest Territories in Inuvik. A full map of the Dempster Highway can be found below.

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The ANWR is referred to as America’s Serengeti because it is home to polar bears, musk oxen, snow geese, and many other species that make up the greatest biological diversity in a protected area of the Arctic. It is smaller than South Carolina but its 1.5 million-acre coast contains 5% of Alaska’s oil, which former President George W. Bush had promised to drill for. This journal provides very useful maps, statistics, and analysis of social, economic, and environmental impact of drilling in the ANWR. Industry representatives claim the new technology is designed specifically for arctic conditions, but there is evidence that oil drilling in the ANWR will do more harm than good.

The Region that lies beyond the 66.5 degree latitudinal line is widely accepted as the Arctic Circle. However, there are other indicators of an arctic region such as 10 degree celsius as the maximum air temperature, tundra to taiga biomes, or continuous permafrost. Despite these different labeling standards the Arctic Circle encompasses roughly 15% of the earths land area and 5% of the world ocean. Some areas in this region can go upwards of 130 days with out experiencing a sunrise. This period of time is known as a Polar Night, but is only experienced at latitudes north of 72degrees. Rather than Polar Night, much of the Arctic Circle experiences an extremely long twilight due to the gentle angle at which the sun rises and sets.
As technology and globalization has improved, exploration in the Arctic Circle has increased substantially. The Arctic is an incredible asset to scientific researchers as we begin to increase our understanding of the region. Its variation in natural landscapes and ecosystems provide researchers with an extremely biodiverse system to study. This region is also home to an abundance of rich raw materials including gold and natural gas. As industrial interest in this region increase, there will also be an increased need for actors with stake in the region to communicate properly. With almost 30 different territories having claims in the Arctic and an estimated 200 million indigenous peoples living in the region, there are constant socioeconomic and political issues that need to be resolved.

The Canadian Arctic Resource Committee (CARC) is an organization that is run by and serves the citizens of Canada in regard to environmental and social changes. CARC was originally developed in 1987 in response to The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Proposal and contributed significantly to the Commissioner’s Inquiry. CARC has been involved in subsequent pipeline initiatives on the quest to find an optimal, sustainable solution. If it had been successful, the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline would be the largest infrastructure in the North. CARC assisted in stopping the implementation of this pipeline due to the environmental detriments, which are further described in Chapter 6 (CARC-Canadian Arctic Resource Committee 2017). CARC works to defend and protect the interests of natives and residents of Canada. CARC encourages northern development, while still maintaining the natural landscape and environmental advantages that native people depend upon. CARC acts as a mediator between governmental advancement and native opinions in order to protect both interests and assist in creating appropriate legislature. After its creation, CARC worked on a national treaty for toxic chemicals and ensured that the Canadian diamond mines were made to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. CARC works as an advocate for Northern natives and develops policy for conscientious use of Arctic resources. CARC supports industrialization and development that works with the environmental conditions and contributes positively to the lives of those who reside in that area. In order to help developers understand native land claims, CARC provides cultural information about native peoples. In addition, CARC releases publications including Northern Perspectives, Northern Minerals Program, Compass, and Voices from the Bay, which provide context into the main issues facing the Arctic and its people (Canadian Arctic Resources Committee 2010).

The Beaufort Sea is a division of the Atlantic Ocean in northwest Canada and northwest Alaska. It is where the Mackenzie River empties into the Canadian side of the sea. This area of the Arctic is known to be a major source of oil and petroleum. It has been the target of pipeline and drilling projects both in the past and presently.

Not much has changed for the Beaufort Sea when it comes to oil extraction. Recently, new oil and gas drilling has been suspended for the next five years in the Beaufort Sea in order for the US and Canada to evaluate the environmental impacts drilling would have on the area. In the 1970’s when this article was written, the same caution was taken by both governments in order to understand the impacts that the pipeline would have on the area and it’s inhabitants. Currently, although the Beaufort Sea is a major reserve for gas and petroleum, it is still dangerous to drill. The landscape of the arctic is much different of that in the Gulf of Mexico, making it more difficult and more dangerous to drill. Even after three decades, this area is still facing the same challenges with its reserves.

Berger refers to wanting to obtain the views regarding the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, from the native people of the Western Arctic and the Mackenzie Valley. This area was called the western arctic when this inquiry was written and now it is more often referred to as the Northwest territories. The Western Arctic, or North West territories, contain parts of Canada such as the Beaufort Sea, Yellowkinfe, Fort Simpson, Fort Goodhope, Norman Wells, Deline, Inuvik, and many more. Berger when speaking of the Western Arctic was referring to the northwest territories in Canada, but there is also the Western Arctic in Alaska. The Canadian Western Arctic is home to the Mackenzie River, which is the second largest river in all of north America. In the decade after 1960, oil companies spent 25 million dollars on the development of wells. As of 2013, the Legacy Well Strategic Plan, made a plan to clean up some of the abandoned oil wells that are no longer in use in the Western Arctic. While Berger’s inquiry was about the threats the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline would have on the Western Arctic, there are still other threats happening in the Western Arctic. Some of the current threats to the Northwest Territories are the oil and gasses immediate threat to wildlife and the extremely fragile ecosystem in the Arctic. Another huge threat to the Western Arctic is climate change. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world and this is a problem for the fragile Arctic ecosystem. So while the Mackenzie Valley pipeline was never built, the common threats that people were scared of are still occurring.
"BLM to clean up old oil wells in western Arctic." BLM to clean up old oil wells in western Arctic. September 26, 2013. Accessed March 08, 2017. http://wilderness.org/blog/blm-clean-old-oil-wells-western-arctic.

The Arctic is home to a plethora of resources; it currently produces one tenth of the world’s oil and one fourth of its natural gas. Commercial extraction of oil started in the 1920s in Canada’s northwest territories. In the 1960s, large hydrocarbon fields were found in Russia, Alaska, and the Mackenzie Delta in Canada. The last several decades have produced billions of cubic meters of gas and oil in these countries in addition to Norway. The Canadian Arctic holds 49 gas and oil fields in the Mackenzie River Delta and 15 are located on the Canadian Arctic archipelago. There are also 11 offshore fossil fuel fields that were discovered in Barents Sea between Russia and Norway. North of the Arctic Circle, mostly in western Siberia, more than 400 onshore oil and gas fields have been found; roughly 60 of these fields are notably vast while a quarter of them are currently inoperable.

In addition to fuel sources, there are also extensive deposits of minerals in the Arctic, predominantly in the most developed part of the region, the Russian Arctic. It contains copper, silver, zinc, molybdenum, gold, uranium, tungsten, tin, platinum, palladium, apatite, cobalt, titanium, rare metals, ceramic raw materials, mica, precious stones, and some of the largest known deposits of coal, gypsum, and diamonds. The North American Arctic, on the other hand, holds iron, nickel, copper, and uranium. It is important to note, however, that many of the known mineral reserves have not been extracted due to the high cost and their inaccessibility.

Resource extraction is not synonymous with instant gratification. The beginning of the process starts with in-depth discussions of feasibility as well as economic, social, and environmental impact. The arctic presents great opportunities for energy, mining, and infrastructure development, which are the leading private sector contributors to economies. However, this does not mean they go without substantial risks and challenges. Considerations include impacts, risk assessment, adaptations, and mitigation; these need to be discussed at length with owners, operators, businesses, governments, utilities, academics, and those potentially affected, both human and nonhuman. Other factors include the consideration of the reduction of seasonal, annual, and multi-year sea ice, meaning a higher accessibility to Arctic waters and coasts for marine shipping and transportation.

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum that promotes cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic States and their residents of issues on sustainable development and environmental protection in the region. The Council, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in September 2016, has a goal of discussing climate challenges and frailty that the North’s ecosystem presents, as well as national development opportunities. In October 2016, the Russian government held a conference called the International Cooperation in the Arctic: New Challenges and Vectors of Development. At this meeting, the most prioritized issue was that of involving non-regional states in the Arctic agenda, along with transforming the Arctic Council into an international organization in order to expand on issues. Additionally, there is talk of establishing parameters of sustainable development in the Arctic, and the up-and-coming field of Arctic law.